Worm gear assemblies have found their way into devices for many different technologies. A typical worm gear assembly includes a wheel in contact with a rotatable worm via a threaded interaction such that the wheel rotates about a wheel axis responsive to rotation of the worm about a perpendicular worm axis. In some applications, backlash in the worm gear assembly might need to be addressed. Backlash occurs when lash allows the wheel to rotate slightly back and forth about an orientation defined by the rotation position of the worm. Precisely controllable worm gear assemblies with anti-backlash features could find potential application in a wide variety of precision instruments, calibration devices and controllers, such as potentiometers.
The present disclosure is directed toward one or more of the problems set forth above.